Carmelo Anthony coined the nickname “Mid Life” for 40-year-old Kurt Thomas during training camp and the name stuck. “Oh my God,” Jason Kidd said. “We were dying.” The irony, of course, is not lost on Kidd. Yes, Thomas is the NBA’s oldest player as well as the champion chop-buster of the Knicks locker room. He dishes it out with the best of them but as the senior citizen on the roster Thomas is tormented regularly by the likes of J.R. Smith and Iman Shumpert. He also provides cover for Kidd, who Saturday joins the league’s exclusive 40 Club, whose current membership consists of Thomas, the Clippers’ Grant Hill and Miami’s Juwan Howard. “Kurt’s still the oldest,” Kidd says. “He’s the one that everyone kills.”

Although he signed a three-year contract with the Knicks last summer, he isn’t ruling out retirement at season’s end. Several people close to Kidd have said they wouldn’t be surprised if Kidd, now a backup for the first time in his Hall of Fame career, decides to walk away. “I don’t know,” Kidd said. “I’m taking it one year at a time.”

Jason Kidd has had a remarkable career: 107 triple-doubles, 17,471 points, 12,051 assists, 10 All-Star appearances, a championship with the 2011 Dallas Mavericks, and countless smart, highlight-reel plays. Should he retire at season’s end, he won’t have too many regrets. He has made the most of his gifts, and worked extremely hard to play this well for so long.

“I’ve achieved everything,” Kidd said. “It’s about the competition now and trying to achieve the ultimate goal and that’s to be the last team standing. When you fulfill that goal to win you want another one because you know it’s the ultimate feeling of winning a championship. You want that second one just as much as you want the first one.”